


Get away

by kitlee625



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Pre-Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-09-10 19:17:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8931703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitlee625/pseuds/kitlee625
Summary: While at the academy, Coulson and May run away to the beach for Christmas. Written for kirstencohen for Philinda Secret Santa. Prompt: "Christmas vacation at the beach"





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [philindas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/philindas/gifts).



> The title comes from the song: “Get Away” by Fitz and the Tantrums

For the past two weeks, Coulson has been practically overflowing with holiday cheer. Just that morning at breakfast, he had greeted May with a big smile, humming Christmas carols in a handmade Santa hat. So she is worried when she gets back from her flight class to find Coulson slumped against her door, staring into space with an empty expression on his face.

“What’s wrong?” she asks. “Shouldn’t you be on a flight to Wisconsin for Christmas by now?”

Wordlessly he hands her a slip of paper. It is new orders from the SHIELD Academy. Their field assignment has been pushed up, and instead of having six days of leave, they are to report to SHIELD Headquarters at 2200 on December 25th to deployment.

Coulson sighs dramatically. “Christmas is cancelled.”

“What did your mother say?”

“That she understands, but I know she’s upset.”

May resists reminding him that she had warned him of this very scenario. No vacation is set in stone, and SHIELD can revoke their holiday leave as quickly as they grant it. But instead of making him feel worse with an “I told you so” she decides to distract him from his misery. ”Do you want to get out of here?"

He shrugs. “Might as well head to SHIELD Headquarters now. We don’t have anyplace else to be for Christmas.”

May smiles to herself. If they leave now, there’s time to make a special detour. “I’ll meet you outside in an hour.”

*****

Outside, it is chilly, and Coulson shivers in his heavy coat as he waits for May. It takes just under two hours to drive from SHIELD Academy to Headquarters, and there are shuttles available to take cadets there for assignments. But May hasn’t requested a shuttle. Instead, she pulls up in a black Jeep and gestures for him to hop in.

“You checked out a car?” he asks as he slides into the passenger seat.

She nods. “I need to make a detour on the way.”

“What detour?”

She smiles mysteriously at him. “It’s a Christmas surprise.”

It is late enough that they are surrounded by darkness as soon as they pull outside the SHIELD Academy campus. There are only a few other cars on the road, and Coulson imagines that everyone else is enjoying Christmas with their families. The bitter pang of jealousy settles in his stomach, and not for the first time he wonders if he made the right choice, joining SHIELD. At the time it had seemed so exciting — like something out of a story. He would get to leave his perfectly ordinary life and have adventures as a secret agent. It had never occurred to him that leaving his ordinary life behind meant leaving the people in his life as well.

He wonders where they are going as May drives them through dark country roads. Gradually, more lights and signs appear, and May follows them until they reach the Bay Bridge. It appears to hover in the blackness, a narrow thread of light spanning the Chesapeake Bay.

“Where are we going?” he asks again.

“It’s a surprise.”

They are the only car on the bridge, and even after they cross it, it takes almost another hour before she pulls up in front of a little house overlooking the beach.

“We’re here,” she announces.

“Where are we?”

“The Eastern Shore. This is my family’s beach house.” She turns off the car and grabs her stuff. “Come on, I’ll show you around.”

Inside the house is a little dusty, but perfectly cheerful, with beach-themed knick-knacks and family photos adorning almost every surface. Coulson pauses to admire a picture of a beaming Melinda May proudly presenting a large seashell for the camera. She is probably about seven or eight in the photo, with missing teeth and wide grin that stretches from ear to ear. 

Coulson gestures at the picture. “Cute,” he says, and May makes a face as she walks through the living room and kitchen, turning on lights and checking the windows.

“I don’t think anyone’s used it in a few years, but it’s still in good shape,” she says.

Coulson has always been curious about May’s family, but she usually avoids talking about her past. He takes advantage of the fact that he is literally surrounded by her childhood memories to ask a few questions. “Did your family come here often?”

“Every summer, plus some weekends during the school year. My dad loves it out here, and it was close enough to Langley that my mother could get back there if she were called on assignment.”

“Did that happen a lot?”

“All the time.”

He sighs. “I guess that’s our life now too. I’m never going to get another holiday with my family.”

“It’s not exactly like that,” she says quickly. “We had time together. We just had to be flexible with things. And I had my dad and my grandmother when she was on assignments.”

“Why didn’t you make any plans for the Christmas break? I mean before it was cancelled.” He has always assumed that her family isn’t very close, but being in the beach house, seeing the years of family vacations, makes him realize that that’s not the case at all.

“Well, my mom’s on assignment now, and my dad moved out to Arizona.”

“Six days is still long enough to go out to Arizona.”

She hesitates, considering her response, and says, “It’s hard, trying to stay close to him now that I’m at SHIELD. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, or have to disappoint him if I had to cancel. It just felt easier to stay away.”

Coulson sighs. “I should probably do that from now on.”

But May surprises him by shaking her head. “Staying away — it may seem easier, but it feels worse. If my mom could make it work, then I’m sure we can too.”

He smiles. “Yeah.”

“In the meantime, I thought we needed a little break from SHIELD. What do you think of the place?”

“It’s great, but I’m starving. Is there anything to eat?”

“There’s a convenience store not far from here.” She checks her watch. “It’s probably still open. I can go pick us up something.”

“Okay. Do you want me to go with you?”

“That’s okay. You stay here.”

While she’s gone, Coulson goes outside to explore the beach. He hasn’t spent a lot of time at the ocean, and he finds the sound of the waves and the feel of cold, salty air to be soothing. He spots a few large pieces of driftwood that have dried out in the cold winter air. He figures that they are dry enough to make a fire, and he gathers them together to surprise May.

*****

The store is only a few blocks away, and fortunately for May, it’s still open on Christmas Eve. She gathers together whatever looks good for their impromptu Christmas Eve dinner - hot dogs, potato chips, mini donuts - then goes next door to the liquor store to buy some whiskey. When she gets back to the beach house, she is surprised to see Coulson making a bonfire on the beach.

She brings the groceries down the fire. “Nice job.”

“Thanks. I was an Eagle Scout.”

“You must have been reading my mind,” she says as she pulls out her package of hot dogs, “because I got these for dinner.”

His face lights up. “Perfect.”

Before long, they are sitting on the beach by the fire, enjoying their dinner. The fire is warm, but occasionally the breeze from the ocean picks up, and they instinctively huddle together.

Coulson puts his arm around her. “It’s after midnight. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas.”

“Thanks for doing this.”

“You don’t wish you were back in Wisconsin?”

“Part of me does,” he admits, “but this is pretty nice too. If I have to be away from my family at Christmas, I’m glad to be able to spend it with you.”

“Me too,” she says. In a few hours they will have to get back on the road and return to SHIELD. But for now at least, they can enjoy their Christmas together.


End file.
